A question has arisen about the Kellett/Hawley Trophy, sometimes called the Bronze Rat or the Chinese Rat by the National Fancy Rat Society (NFRS) membership.

This trophy was donated by two of the greatest mouse fanciers I have ever known, John Kellett of Wrose, Shipley, West Yorkshire, and Frank Hawley of Marple, Cheshire.

They had asked me if the rat fancy would like a trophy for their club. I immediately replied that I was positive that they would really appreciate it. So John, who collected ornaments of mice, mostly made of china, donated this lovely rat ornament, and Frank, who was an expert maker of Maxey cages, breeding boxes and wooden trophies, put it on a plinth and added an engraved plaque.

In 1982 I had written for the bi-monthly NFRS newsletter, ‘Pro-Rat-A’, an article suggesting that the rat fancy have cup shows, and especially an annual event like the NMC Annual.

The Kellett/Hawlwey Trophy

The NFRS committee decided to hold the first ever Annual Cup Show on Sunday 4th September 1983, at Perry Park, Perry Barr, Birmingham, the Kellett/Hawley Trophy being awarded for BIS.

The judge was Nick Mays of Mortlake, South London, who was Hon Sec and a leading light of the rat fancy at that time. He has also written many books on small livestock. He awarded BIS to Rosemary and Patrick Quaid of Bromley, Kent, who were a married couple in life and a partnership in breeding and showing rats. They did a lot of winning, and were the leading exhibitors for a good while.

The BIS rat was a Cinnamon Pearl adult buck. This is a beautiful colour and unique to rats. I suggest all discerning mouse fanciers have a look at this variety when next at a “mixed” show, like the London Ch Show, the Bradford Ch Show or the London & Southern Counties Mouse & Rat Club table or open shows. It’s a real shame that we don’t have a Cinnamon Pearl mouse, I think it would be most attractive.

I attended and exhibited at the Perry Park show (along with my friend Ann Storey, President of the NFRS), her partner Martyn Smith (Show Sec of the London Championship Show rat section) and George Parker (a former member and judge of mice and rats). I should add that they are still close mates of mine, 40-plus years later.

I trust this clarifies the origins of the Kellett/Hawley Trophy. There never was a separate trophy for mice like this one. My thanks to Ann Storey for her help in confirming my research.